The Civil War 1861 – 1865
Causes of the Civil War The Missouri Compromise For every slave state admitted into the union, there must be a free state admitted.
Causes of the Civil War The Compromise of 1850 California admitted free state New Mexico Territory; no slave restrictions Slave trade abolished but not slavery Fugitive Slave Act All citizens had to help catch runaway slaves; anyone who aided a fugitive would be fined or imprisoned
Fugitive Slave Act
Causes of the Civil War Kansas-Nebraska Act Congress disagreed over these states being free or slave states Wiped Out Missouri Compromise and let popular sovereignty rule Kansas elected proslavery legislature Caused bloodshed in Kansas and Congress
Dredd Scott vs. Sanford 1830’s - Dredd Scott was a slave owned by a doctor in Missouri (Slave state) The doctor moved his family to Illinois (Free State) Dredd Scott sued for his freedom after his owner died in 1846. Eleven years later, the case reached the Supreme Court
Dredd Scott vs. Sanford Verdict As a slave, not a legal citizen, Dredd Scott did not have the right to bring a law suit. An enslaved person was property so stepping on free soil did not make him free. 5th ammendment (Due process); cannot take away property Constitution protected slavery
Election of 1860 Abraham Lincoln elected president in 1860 but would not take office until March 4, 1861. (Buchanan still president) Major division in congress over slavery Neither wanted compromise
The South Secedes February 1861 Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina Confederate States of America President Jefferson Davis Argued States’ Rights Buchanan said they had no right to secede
Confederate States of America
Fort Sumter Governer Pickens of South Carolina sent troops to attack Fort Sumter before they received needed supplies
Fort Sumter
Confederate General Robert E. Lee
Union General Ulysses S. Grant